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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Lessons learned in Pregnancy. Part 1.

I have been in blog hibernation for some time now. Not that I haven't been reading, etc. But I have tried to collect stories from time to time, only to promptly forget them. But, to celebrate a return to bloggyville, I have put together the first in a series of lessons I have learned over the past 6 months of being preggers.

First off, I guess I have some news to divulge (though if you follow me on Twitter @sjlz, you may already know this)....

The baby that is happily kicking away in my belly? It's a ..... girl!!

Which brings me to lesson #1:
Ultrasound technicians are very sweet and kind people, but generally speaking, very clinical. When I asked her "How sure are you?" (because that's what all of the baby books suggest if you really want to know what you're having), she proceeded to show us - and label - our baby girl's "girl parts" - but using the most clinical terms. I thought my husband was going to pass out when she said the word "Labia."

Lesson #2:
Everyone is psychic, and everyone will predict for you what you're having. They will all be 100 percent sure. Now, I have thought that I was having a girl for some time. In fact, since the moment I knew I was pregnant, I have thought it was a girl. I remember getting in my husband's car about a week and a half before I'd know for sure and gagging at the smell of the air conditioner. My first thought was: I'm pregnant, and it's a girl. But, of course that didn't stop people from telling me, over the next 18 weeks or so what I was carrying. It's low, so it's a boy. It's wide, so it's a girl. It's low, so it's a girl... you get the point.

In fact, one woman - a practical stranger - was so convinced I was carrying a boy that when I gently told her that I actually knew that it was, in fact, a girl, she said to me: "Maybe you're having twins." Really?! It's not possible that you may be wrong, practical stranger? Instead, you're going to assert your instinct over medical science?

Lesson #3:
Morning sickness does not always happen in the morning, and it does not necessarily stay away after the magical 13 week mark. Mine came back. As did some of my strange food aversions. If I even look at a box of raisins, I fight the urge to gag. Some smells are still so powerful and overbearing that I just can't be around them.

Lesson #4:
No matter how hard you try: you will pee when you sneeze or laugh, you will randomly burst into tears over silly things, your baby will kick you at inopportune times (like when you're in your boss' office and it's not a time for distraction or laughter - and this is usually the time the kicks tickle you in some way).

Lesson #5:
Some things that once mattered to you, will just float away. This is true for a lot of things in my life, but one of the more obvious and trivial things: I eventually gave up makeup. Every once in a while, I'll bust out the Benefit and apply a dash of make up and throw on some lip gloss. And by every once in a while I mean... once a month. And this is from a Sephora-loving addict. My fancy collection of makeup, mascara, lip gloss, tools and brushes sits in a drawer. After week 16 or so, I just stopped wearing it. My skin had finally cleared up from first trimester acne and it darkened, so my light colored makeup would no longer fit the bill. And, mind you, I was someone who NEVER went out in public without makeup. Not since I was 17 or so. The glow that people refer to, in my case, is my oily t-zone, unadorned by product to try to lessen the problem.

There are a LOT more lessons I've learned, and continued to learn. Before I break out with part 2 - I'd love to hear some lessons from the other moms out there.

10 comments:

People have me doubting my instinct that I'm having a boy (because you're right, everyone is 100 percent sure they know the gender) but I was right on about you having a girl. I knew the moment you told me you were pregnant you would have a girl. It's weird that my motherly instincts may be better when they involve someone else's child.

Prenatal massages? Best.thing.ever.

Choosing a name? Much, much harder than I ever thought it would be. To the point where we will be going to the hospital with a few options and choosing once we meet the baby.

Having someone else to go through pregnancy with? I highly recommend it (especially when she gets all the crappy symptoms while you only have to deal with swollen feet and a sore back).

for me, the morning sickness started immediately, and got worse around the 8 week mark, lasted until 13 weeks, then came back around 23. i too had very nasty periods, and while i did have cramps for the first 10 weeks or so, i'm so happy they've gone away. i hear they may even be better after the baby.

as to strangers touching you - Yes. It happens. some people ask - but most people do not. I try to avoid people.

What I have learned is just when you think you can't possibly get any bigger or anymore uncomfortable, you can and you do. I look back at my pictures from when I was 30 weeks along and thought I was huge then... Yeah, I wasn't. I'm HUGE now. And ready to pop. Get this kid outta me. :)

I'm so excited to see that 1/2 of the baby prediction was right on. A woman that I knew from my church at college, said she suffered more sickness and such from her 3 girls than she did with her two boys.

It's hard to imagine two friends who are less alike. While we live in the same town and are married to guys who grew up together, one of us has a daughter while the other has a son. One of us works full-time while the other stays home and dabbles in a bunch of part-time gigs. One of has lots of adventures but not enough time to blog about them, while the other leads a more boring life and has plenty of time to write about it. One thing we do have in common is our sense of humor... and the knowledge that we're funny. Very funny. See if you agree...

We also have some pretty funny readers. Leave your comments (funny or otherwise), especially if it includes references to how fast we look like we've lost the baby weight.